Cloud based management for multiple content markers

ABSTRACT

A first device may receive an instruction to add a first marker that identifies a first time index associated with particular content and a particular account used to access the particular content; receive an instruction to add a second marker that identifies a second time index associated with the particular content and the particular account; store the first marker and information associating the first marker with the first time index, the particular content, and the particular account; store the second marker and information associating the second marker with the second time index, the particular content, and the particular account; receive selection of the first marker or the second marker, associated with the particular content and the particular account; and cause a second device to play back the particular content at the first time index or the second time index.

BACKGROUND

Content providers can provide content (e.g., audio content, videocontent, web content, etc.) to user devices over a network. A user maymaintain a user account with a content provider in order to accesscontent. When accessing content, the user can pause playback of thecontent, such that when the content is later accessed, playback of thecontent can be resumed at a time index corresponding to where theplayback of the content was paused. When multiple users access thecontent using a common user account, each of the multiple users may notpause playback of the content at the same time index. As a result, themultiple users may need to manually navigate (e.g., fast forward/rewind)through the content to resume playback of the content at a desired timeindex.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate an example overview of an implementationdescribed herein;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example environment in which systems and/ormethods, described herein, may be implemented;

FIG. 3 illustrates example components of a device that may be usedwithin the environment of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example process for managingmarkers and continuing playback of content at a time index identified bya marker;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example data structure that may be stored by oneor more devices in the environment of FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrates an example implementation as described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the sameor similar elements.

Systems and/or methods, as described herein, may store multiple timeindex markers (herein after referred to as “markers”) for particularcontent provided by a content provider. In some implementations, aparticular marker may be generated and may correspond to a time index inwhich playback of the content has been paused. In some implementations,the particular marker may be later selected such that playback of thecontent may occur at a time index corresponding to the marker.

In some implementations, multiple users may access particular contentusing a common account, view the particular content independently, andmay generate individual markers where playback has been paused by eachuser and may later be resumed for each user. For example, a first usermay generate a first marker corresponding to a first time index wherethe first user paused playback of the particular content. A second usermay generate a second marker corresponding to a second time index wherethe second user paused playback of the particular content.

In some implementations, markers may also correspond to chaptersassociated with the particular content, users' favorite scenes,restricted scenes that may be skipped, or time indexes in the particularcontent associated with particular attributes of the particular content.

FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate an example overview of an implementationdescribed herein. As shown in FIG. 1A, a user device may provide acontent access request to a content provider server via a contentplayback platform shown in interface 100. For example, the user devicemay provide account related information, such as login informationand/or some other information that authorizes the user to access contentstored by the content provider server.

In some implementations, the user device may receive a selection ofparticular content, such as Content 1 (e.g., from the user of the userdevice via interface 100), and may provide the content selection to thecontent provider server. In some implementations, the content providerserver may identify one or more markers that are associated with theselected content and with the account information (e.g., markers thathave been previously generated and associated with the accountinformation and the particular content). In some implementations, thecontent provider server may provide information identifying the markersto the user device.

As shown in interface 100, the user device may display a list of markersassociated with the selected content. In some implementations, eachmarker, in the list of markers, may include a time index and a name(e.g., a user-selectable description of the marker). In someimplementations, the user device may receive a selection of a particularmarker and may provide a marker selection (e.g., information identifyingthe selection of the particular marker) to the content provider server.In some implementations, the content provider server may provide thecontent to the user device such that the user device begins playback ofthe content at the time index associated with the selected marker.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the user device may receive a selection (e.g.,from the user) to pause playback of the selected content (e.g.,Content 1) and to display a marker management/selection menu (e.g., asshown in interface 100). In some implementations, the user may providethe selection to pause the playback and to display the markermanagement/selection menu, for example, by depressing a pause button onan accessory device (e.g., a remote control associated with the userdevice) for greater than a threshold amount of time. Additionally, oralternatively, the user may provide the selection to pause the playbackand to display the marker management/selection menu using some othertechnique. In the example shown in FIG. 1B, the user device may pauseplayback of Content 1 at the time index 18:17 (i.e., 18 minutes and 17seconds).

In some implementations, the user device may receive a selection to adda marker at the time index at which Content 1 has been paused. Based onreceiving the selection to add the marker, the user device may presentan option to add a description (e.g., a name) for the marker. In someimplementations, the user may input the description via an accessorydevice (e.g., a remote control, a keyboard, etc.) associated with theuser device. In some implementations, the user device may provide amarker management instruction (e.g., an instruction to store a markerassociated with the time index and the description) to the contentprovider server. In some implementations, the content provider servermay receive the marker management instruction and may store informationrelating to the marker. Further, the content provider server mayassociate the marker with Content 1 and with an account of the user.

As a result, multiple markers for particular content may be generatedsuch that when multiple users access the particular content via a commonaccount, playback can be resumed from one of multiple time indexes. Forexample, a first user may resume playback from a first time index (e.g.,corresponding to when the first user paused playback of the particularcontent), and a second user may resume playback from a second time index(e.g., corresponding to when the second user paused playback of theparticular content). Further, markers can be shared with other users andsaved to other users' respective accounts. In some implementations,markers may be provided by a publisher of the particular content and maycorrespond to chapters associated with the particular content. In someimplementations, markers may correspond to metadata associated with theparticular content, and may be automatically generated based onpixel-based classification techniques. For example, a marker canidentify particular objects (e.g., people, audio, or the like) and mayidentify a time index in the content in which the particular objects arepresent.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example environment 200 in which systemsand/or methods described herein may be implemented. As shown in FIG. 2,environment 200 may include user devices 210-1, . . . , 210-M (whereM≧1), content provider server 220, and network 230.

User device 210 may include any device capable of communicating via anetwork, such as network 230. For example, user device 210 maycorrespond to a mobile communication device (e.g., a smart phone or apersonal digital assistant (PDA)), a portable computer device (e.g., alaptop or a tablet computer), a gaming device, a desktop computingdevice, a set-top box, a media player, or another type of device. Insome implementations, user device 210 may communicate with contentprovider server 220 to request content, receive the content, and presentthe content via a user interface of user device 210. In someimplementations, user device 210 may request content playback at aparticular time index associated with a marker. In some implementations,user device 210 may receive instructions to add, delete, and/or modify amarker.

Content provider server 220 may include one or more computing devices,such as a server device or a collection of server devices. In someimplementations, content provider server 220 may store content and maydeliver content to user device 210 via network 230. In someimplementations, content provider server 220 may store useraccount/subscription information that may be used to authorize userdevice 210 to receive content in exchange for payment. In someimplementations, content provider server 220 may store/maintaininformation associating one or more markers with particular content andwith a particular user account.

In some implementations, a first user device 210 (e.g., user device210-1) may receive an instruction to add a marker associated withparticular content and with a particular user account provide theinstruction to content provider server 220. In some implementations,content provider server 220 may store information associating the markerwith the particular content and the particular user account. In someimplementations, a second user device 210 (e.g., user device 210-2) mayaccess the particular content, using the particular user account, fromcontent provider server 220. In some implementations, user device 210-2may receive information identifying the marker from content providerserver 220 and may select that marker. That is, a marker may begenerated via user device 210-1 and later selected via user device210-2.

Network 230 may include one or more wired and/or wireless networks. Forexample, network 230 may include a cellular network (e.g., a secondgeneration (2G) network, a third generation (3G) network, a fourthgeneration (4G) network, a fifth generation (5G) network, a long-termevolution (LTE) network, a global system for mobile (GSM) network, acode division multiple access (CDMA) network, an evolution-dataoptimized (EVDO) network, or the like), a public land mobile network(PLMN), and/or another network. Additionally, or alternatively, network230 may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), ametropolitan network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN)), an ad hoc network, a managed IPnetwork, a virtual private network (VPN), an intranet, the Internet, afiber optic-based network, and/or a combination of these or other typesof networks.

The quantity of devices and/or networks, illustrated in FIG. 2, is notlimited to what is shown. In practice, there may be additional devicesand/or networks; fewer devices and/or networks; different devices and/ornetworks; or differently arranged devices and/or networks thanillustrated in FIG. 2. Also, in some implementations, one or more of thedevices of environment 200 may perform one or more functions describedas being performed by another one or more of the devices of environment200. Devices of environment 200 may interconnect via wired connections,wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wirelessconnections.

FIG. 3 illustrates example components of a device 300 that may be usedwithin environment 200 of FIG. 2. Device 300 may correspond to userdevice 210 and/or content provider server 220. Each of user device 210and/or content provider server 220 may include one or more devices 300and/or one or more components of device 300.

As shown in FIG. 3, device 300 may include a bus 305, a processor 310, amain memory 315, a read only memory (ROM) 320, a storage device 325, aninput device 330, an output device 335, and a communication interface340.

Bus 305 may include a path that permits communication among thecomponents of device 300. Processor 310 may include a processor, amicroprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA), or another type of processor thatinterprets and executes instructions. Main memory 315 may include arandom access memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic storage devicethat stores information or instructions for execution by processor 310.ROM 320 may include a ROM device or another type of static storagedevice that stores static information or instructions for use byprocessor 310. Storage device 325 may include a magnetic storage medium,such as a hard disk drive, or a removable memory, such as a flashmemory.

Input device 330 may include a component that permits an operator toinput information to device 300, such as a control button, a keyboard, akeypad, or another type of input device. Output device 335 may include acomponent that outputs information to the operator, such as a lightemitting diode (LED), a display, or another type of output device.Communication interface 340 may include any transceiver-like componentthat enables device 300 to communicate with other devices or networks.In some implementations, communication interface 340 may include awireless interface, a wired interface, or a combination of a wirelessinterface and a wired interface.

Device 300 may perform certain operations, as described in detail below.Device 300 may perform these operations in response to processor 310executing software instructions contained in a computer-readable medium,such as main memory 315. A computer-readable medium may be defined as anon-transitory memory device. A memory device may include memory spacewithin a single physical storage device or memory space spread acrossmultiple physical storage devices.

The software instructions may be read into main memory 315 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as storage device 325, or from anotherdevice via communication interface 340. The software instructionscontained in main memory 315 may direct processor 310 to performprocesses that will be described later. Alternatively, hardwiredcircuitry may be used in place of or in combination with softwareinstructions to implement processes described herein. Thus,implementations described herein are not limited to any specificcombination of hardware circuitry and software.

In some implementations, device 300 may include additional components,fewer components, different components, or differently arrangedcomponents than are shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example process 400 for managingmarkers and continuing playback of content at a time index identified bya marker. In one implementation, process 400 may be performed by one ormore components of content provider server 220. In anotherimplementation, some or all of blocks of process 400 may be performed byone or more components of another device in environment 200 (e.g., userdevice 210), or a group of devices including or excluding contentprovider server 220.

As shown in FIG. 4, process 400 may include receiving a content request(block 410). For example, content provider server 220 may receive thecontent request from user device 210. In some implementations, thecontent request may include login information (e.g., a username,password, etc.) that may be used to identify a user account and toauthorize user device 210 to receive content. Further, the contentrequest may include a selection of particular content to be provided touser device 210.

Process 400 may also include identifying markers associated with theparticular content and the user account (block 420). For example,content provider server 220 may identify markers that have been linkedto the particular content and to the user account identified in thecontent request. In some implementations, content provider server 220may store a data structure that identifies markers that are linked tothe particular content and the user account. As described in greaterdetail below, markers may be linked to the particular content and to theuser account based on a marker management instruction provided by userdevice 210.

Process 400 may further include providing markers for display on theuser device (block 430). For example, content provider server 220 mayprovide the identified markers for display on user device 210 (e.g., ona user interface of user device 210). In some implementations, userdevice 210 may display the markers in a list. In some implementations,the list may include a description of each marker and a time indexassociated with each marker. An example of providing the identifiedmarkers for display on user device 210 is shown in interface 100 of FIG.1A.

Process 400 may also include receiving a marker selection (block 440).For example, content provider server 220 may receive a selection ofmarker from user device 210 (e.g., when a user of user device 210selects the marker from a marker list presented on a user interface ofuser device 210). In some implementations, the marker selection mayinclude a description of the marker to permit content provider server220 to identify the selected marker.

Process 400 may further include providing the particular content to theuser device in accordance with the marker selection (block 450). Forexample, content provider server 220 may provide the particular contentto user device 210 with an instruction to cause user device 210 to playback the particular content at a time index corresponding to the marker.As an example, assume that content provider server 220 receives themarker having the description “Marker 1.” Further, assume that Marker 1is associated with the time index of 18:17. Given these assumptions,content provider server 220 may provide the particular content alongwith an instruction to direct user device 210 to play back theparticular content beginning at the time index of 18:17. In someimplementations, a marker may correspond to a time period instead of asingle time index. When the marker corresponds to a time period insteada single time index, content provider server 220 may provide theparticular content to user device 210 with an instruction to cause userdevice 210 to play back the content while skipping playback, orfast-forwarding though the content, during the time period (e.g., forcontent that may be restricted, such as content relating to a parentalcontrol), or to play back the content during the time period (e.g., forcontent relating to a user's favorite content).

Process 400 may also include receiving a marker management instruction(block 460). For example, content provider server 220 may receive amarker management instruction from user device 210. In someimplementations, the marker management instruction may include aninstruction to add, remove, or modify a marker in connection with theparticular content and the user account. In some implementations themarker management instruction may include a description of the markerand a time index associated with the marker. In some implementations,the marker management instruction may identify the particular contentand the user account.

As described above, a user may access a marker management menu (e.g., togenerate the marker management instruction) by depressing a pause buttonon an accessory device (e.g., a remote control associated with userdevice 210) for greater than a threshold amount of time. Additionally,or alternatively, the user may access the marker management menu usingsome other technique. In some implementations, the user may select toadd, remove, or modify a marker via the market management menu. Forexample, the user may add a marker corresponding to a time index atwhich playback of the particular content has been paused. Additionally,or alternatively, the user may add a marker corresponding to some othertime index. In some implementations, the user may select to remove anexisting marker by selecting the marker from a marker list in the markermanagement menu, and selecting a command (e.g., from the user interfaceof user device 210) to delete the marker. In some implementations, theuser may select to modify an existing marker by selecting the markerfrom the marker list and selecting a command to modify an attribute ofthe marker (e.g., modify a description of the marker and/or a time indexof the marker).

In some implementations, the marker management instruction may bereceived from some other source other than the user. For example, themarker management instruction may be received from a publisherassociated with the particular content and may correspond to chapters inthe particular content. In some implementations, the marker managementinstruction may be formed based on pixel-based classificationinformation and may identify particular objects (e.g., people, audio, orthe like) and may identify a time index in the particular content inwhich the particular objects are present. In some implementations,markers may be published and/or shared (e.g., by users associated withother user accounts) and may be selected to be added to the useraccount. In some implementations, markers may be purchased and added tothe user account. In some implementations, markers may correspond totime periods in the particular content where playback is to be skipped(e.g., corresponding to parental controls, or portions of the particularcontent a user may not be interested in viewing).

Process 400 may further include storing, modifying, or deleting themarker in accordance with the marker management instruction (block 470).For example, content provider server 220 may maintain a data structurethat identifies markers associated with the particular content and theuser account. In some implementations, when the marker managementinstruction includes an instruction to add a marker, content providerserver 220 may store information regarding the marker in the datastructure to link the marker to the particular content and the useraccount. When the marker management instruction includes an instructionto remove a marker, content provider server 220 may delete the markerfrom the data structure. In some implementations, the data structure maybe used to identify markers associated with the particular content andthe particular user account in accordance with block 420 as describedabove. In some implementations, the data structure may include labels toidentify users associated with the markers. An example of a datastructure that maintains markers for particular content and a particularuser account is described below with respect to FIG. 5. In someimplementations (e.g., when a marker did not previously exist for theparticular content and the user account), content provider server 220may generate a marker with a description, such as “Beginning” and a timeindex of 0:00 such that the beginning of the content can be selected forplayback.

While FIG. 4 shows process 400 as including a particular quantity andarrangement of blocks, in some implementations, process 400 may includefewer blocks, additional blocks, or a different arrangement of blocks.Additionally, or alternatively, some of the blocks may be performed inparallel. For example, blocks 420-440 may be omitted when a marker isnot linked to the particular content and the user account.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example data structure 500 that may be stored byone or more devices in environment 200, such as content provider server220. In some implementations, data structure 500 may be stored in amemory of content provider server 220. In some implementations, datastructure 500 may be stored in a memory separate from, but accessibleby, content provider server 220. In some implementations, data structure500 may be stored by some other device in environment 200, such as userdevice 210.

A particular instance of data structure 500 may contain differentinformation and/or fields than another instance of data structure 500.In some implementations, data structure 500 may store informationidentifying markers associated with a particular user account. Anotherinstance of data structure 500 may store information identifying markersassociated with another user account.

As shown in FIG. 5, data structure 500 may include user informationfield 510, content field 520, and markers field 530.

User information field 510 may store information identifying aparticular user account associated with a particular instance of datastructure 500. In some implementations, user information field 510 maystore an identifier of the user account (e.g., a user ID, or the like).In some implementations, user information field 510 may storeinformation identifying an available quantity of marker slots,identifying an available quantity of markers (e.g., markers per content)that may be stored for the user account, or the like. In someimplementations, the available quantity of markers may be based on asubscription level of the user account.

Content field 520 may store information identifying particular contentthat may include markers. For example, content field 520 may store anidentifier of the particular content and/or some other information thatmay be used to uniquely identify the particular content.

Markers field 530 may store a list of markers associated with theparticular content identified in content field 520 and the particularuser account identified in user information field 510. In someimplementations, each marker in markers field 530 may include a timeindex and a description (e.g., a name). In some implementations, thetime index may identify a time at which playback of the content my beginwhen the marker is selected. For example, the time index may identify attime at which playback of the content was paused and may be laterresumed. In some implementations, the description may identify a userassociated with the marker, a description of a scene, or some otherdescription selectable by the user associated with the marker. In someimplementations, markers field 530 may identify a time period for aparticular marker. In some implementations, the time period may identifya portion of the content may be skipped during playback of the contentor a portion of the content that may be played back (e.g., withoutplaying back another portion of the content not included in the timeperiod identified by the particular marker).

In some implementations, information stored by data structure 500 may bebased on marker management instructions received from user device 210.As an example, assume that user device 210 provides a marker managementinstruction, associated with the user account having the ID of User 123,to add a marker for Content 1 with description “Mom” at time index0:23:39. Given this assumption, content provider server 220 may store,in data structure 500, a marker with the description “Mom,” and the timeindex 0:23:39 in connection with Content 1 and the user account havingthe ID of User 123.

While particular fields are shown in a particular format in datastructure 500, in practice, data structure 500 may include additionalfields, fewer fields, different fields, or differently arranged fieldsthan are shown in FIG. 5. Also, FIG. 5 illustrates examples ofinformation stored by data structure 500. In practice, other examples ofinformation stored by data structure 500 are possible.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate an example implementation as described herein. InFIG. 6A, assume that user device 210 communicates with content providerserver 220 to receive content (e.g., Content 1) and that user device 210is currently playing the content for viewing on a display associatedwith user device 210. As shown in FIG. 6A, user device 210 may receiveselections from a user (e.g., via interface 600) to pause contentplayback and to add a marker. In some implementations, user device 210may receive a selection to add a marker identifying a time period inbetween two time indexes. For example, a user may select a first timeindex (e.g., 18:17) corresponding to when playback of the content hasbeen paused and a starting point as to when playback of the content isto be skipped when the content is played back by user device 210.Further, the user may select a second time index (e.g., 20:23)corresponding to when the playback is to resume after being skipped.Further, the user may input a description for the marker and select amarker type (e.g., a restricted type).

In some implementations, the marker type may indicate that playback ofthe content, during the time period indicated by the marker, is to beskipped. For example, the “Restricted content” marker type may relate toa parental control. In some implementations, user device 210 may receivea selection of a password based on receiving the selection of the“Restricted Content” marker type. As described in greater detail below,the password may be used to allow a user to view the content withoutskipping playback identified by the time period associated with themarker.

Based on receiving the selections associated with the marker (e.g., thetime indexes corresponding to a time period, the marker name, and themarker type), user device 210 may generate a marker managementinstruction and provide the marker management instruction to contentprovider server 220. In some implementations, content provider server220 may execute the marker management instruction to add the marker inconnection with the particular content and the user account associatedwith the user.

Referring to FIG. 6B, assume that at a later time, user device 210provides, to content provider server 220 (e.g., as part of a request toaccess content), login information identifying the same user accountused to generate the marker described in FIG. 6A. As shown in interface600, user device 210 may present a list of content associated with theuser account (e.g., corresponding to a content queue associated with theuser account). In some implementations, user device 210 may receive aselection of Content 1 and may provide the content selection to contentprovider server 220. In some implementations, content provider server220 may identify markers associated with Content 1 and with the useraccount, and may provide the markers to user device 210. In someimplementations, user device 210 may present the markers in a markerlist and may receive a selection of a marker.

As an example, user device 210 may receive a selection of the markerwith the name “Beginning” In some implementations, user device 210 mayidentify that a “Restricted Content” type marker exists for Content 1and may present an option to playback Content 1 with the restrictedcontent or without the restricted content (e.g., by skipping playbackduring the time period associated with the “Restricted Content” typemarker). As an example, user device 210 may receive a selection toplayback Content 1 with the restricted content and may present an optionfor a user to input a password. In some implementations, user device 210may authorize the playback of the restricted content (e.g., based on theinputted password and the password used to generate the marker asdescribed above in FIG. 6A) and user device 210 may play Content 1 withthe restricted content. If user device 210 receives a selection to playthe Content 1 without the restricted content or when user device 210does not authorize the playback of the restricted content, user device210 may skip playback of Content 1 during the time period correspondingthe “Restricted Content” type marker.

While a particular example is shown in FIGS. 6A-6B, the abovedescription is merely an example implementation. In practice, otherexamples are possible from what is described above in FIGS. 6A-6B. Also,while a particular format of interface 600 is shown, in practice,interface 600 may have a different format and appearance than what isshown in FIGS. 6A-6B.

As described above, multiple markers for particular content may begenerated such that when multiple users access the particular contentvia a common account, playback can be resumed from one of multiple timeindexes. For example, a first user may resume playback from a first timeindex (e.g., corresponding to when the first user paused playback of theparticular content), and a second user may resume playback from a secondtime index (e.g., corresponding to when the second user paused playbackof the particular content). Further, markers can be shared with otherusers and saved to other users' respective accounts. In someimplementations, markers may be provided by a publisher of theparticular content and may correspond to chapters associated with theparticular content. In some implementations, markers may correspond tometadata associated with the particular content, and may beautomatically generated based on pixel-based classification techniques.For example, a marker can identify particular objects (e.g., people,places, items, audio, or the like) and may identify a time index in thecontent in which the particular objects are present.

The foregoing description provides illustration and description, but isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the possible implementationsto the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of theimplementations.

It will be apparent that different examples of the description providedabove may be implemented in many different forms of software, firmware,and hardware in the implementations illustrated in the figures. Theactual software code or specialized control hardware used to implementthese examples is not limiting of the implementations. Thus, theoperation and behavior of these examples were described withoutreference to the specific software code—it being understood thatsoftware and control hardware can be designed to implement theseexamples based on the description herein.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in theclaims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are notintended to limit the disclosure of the possible implementations. Infact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specificallyrecited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Althougheach dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one otherclaim, the disclosure of the possible implementations includes eachdependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

To the extent the aforementioned implementations collect, store, oremploy personal information provided by individuals, it should beunderstood that such information shall be used in accordance with allapplicable laws concerning protection of personal information.Additionally, the collection, storage, and use of such information maybe subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example,through “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as may be appropriate for thesituation and type of information. Storage and use of personalinformation may be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of thetype of information, for example, through various encryption andanonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.

No element, act, or instruction used in the present application shouldbe construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described assuch. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include oneor more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Whereonly one item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used.Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least inpart, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a firstdevice, an instruction to add a first marker that identifies a firsttime index associated with particular content and a particular accountused to access the particular content; receiving, by the first device,an instruction to add a second marker that identifies a second timeindex associated with the particular content and the particular account;storing, by the first device, the first marker and informationassociating the first marker with the first time index, the particularcontent, and the particular account; storing, by the first device, thesecond marker and information associating the second marker with thesecond time index, the particular content, and the particular account;receiving, by the first device, selection of the first marker or thesecond marker, associated with the particular content and the particularaccount; and causing, by the first device, a second device to play backthe particular content at the first time index or the second time index.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, after storingthe first marker and the second marker, a request for the particularcontent from the second device, the request being associated with theparticular account; and providing information regarding the first markerand the second marker to the second device, where receiving theselection of the first marker or the second marker includes: receiving,from the second device, a selection of the first marker or the secondmarker from the information regarding the first marker or the secondmarker.
 3. The method of claim 1, where the instruction to add the firstmarker or the instruction to add the second marker is provided by thesecond device or a publisher associated with the particular content. 4.The method of claim 1, where the first marker or the second markerrelates to a chapter of the particular content, metadata of theparticular content, an object presented in the particular content, or apoint in the particular content at which playback of the particularcontent has been paused by a user of the second device.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, where the instruction to add the first marker or theinstruction to add the second marker includes a description, the methodfurther comprising: storing information associating the first marker orthe second marker with the description, where storing the first markeror the second marker includes storing the information associating thefirst marker or the second marker with the description.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, where the first marker identifies a third time index inaddition to the first time index, the method further comprising: causingthe second device to prevent playback of the particular content betweenthe first time index and the third time index.
 7. The method of claim 1,where the first marker identifies a third time index in addition to thefirst time index, the method comprising: receiving authorizationinformation from the second device; and causing the second device topermit playback of the particular content between the first time indexand the third time index based on the authorization information.
 8. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: storing a third marker,identifying a third time index, based on storing the first marker or thesecond marker, the third time index identifying a beginning of theparticular content and being selectable by the second device to causethe second device to play back the particular content from the beginningof the particular content.
 9. A system comprising: a first device to:receive an instruction to add a first marker that identifies a firsttime index associated with particular content and a particular accountused to access the particular content; receive an instruction to add asecond marker that identifies a second time index associated with theparticular content and the particular account; store the first markerand information associating the first marker with the first time index,the particular content, and the particular account; store the secondmarker and information associating the second marker with the secondtime index, the particular content, and the particular account; receiveselection of the first marker or the second marker, associated with theparticular content and the particular account; cause a second device toplay back the particular content at the first time index or the secondtime index; receive, after storing the first marker and the secondmarker, a request for the particular content from the second device, therequest being associated with the particular account; provideinformation regarding the first marker and the second marker to thesecond device; receive, from the second device, a selection of the firstmarker; and cause the second device to play back the particular contentat the first time index corresponding to selection of the first marker.10. The system of claim 9, where the instruction to add the first markeror the instruction to add the second marker is provided by the seconddevice or a publisher associated with the particular content.
 11. Thesystem of claim 9, where the first marker or the second marker relatesto a chapter of the particular content, metadata of the particularcontent, an object presented in the particular content, or a point inthe particular content at which playback of the particular content hasbeen paused by the second device.
 12. The system of claim 9, where theinstruction to add the first marker or the instruction to add the secondmarker includes a description, where the first device is further to:store information associating the first marker or the second marker withthe description, where when storing the first marker or the secondmarker, the first device is further to store the information associatingthe first marker or the second marker with the description.
 13. Thesystem of claim 9, where the second marker identifies a third time indexin addition to the second time index, where the first device is furtherto: cause the second device to prevent playback of the particularcontent between the second time index and the third time index.
 14. Thesystem of claim 9, where the second marker identifies a third time indexin addition to the second time index, where the first device is furtherto: receive authorization information from the second device; and causethe second device to permit playback of the particular content betweenthe second time index and the third time index based on theauthorization information.
 15. The system of claim 9, where the firstdevice is further to: store a third marker, identifying a third timeindex, based on storing the first marker or the second marker, the thirdtime index identifying a beginning of the particular content and beingselectable by the second device to cause the second device to play backthe particular content from the beginning of the particular content. 16.A computer-readable medium for storing instructions, the instructionscomprising: a plurality of instructions which, when executed by one ormore processors associated with a first device, cause the one or moreprocessors to: receive an instruction to add a first marker thatidentifies a first time index associated with particular content, afirst description, and a particular account used to access theparticular content; receive an instruction to add a second marker thatidentifies a second time index associated with the particular content, asecond description, and the particular account; store the first markerand information associating the first marker with the first time index,the first description, the particular content, and the particularaccount; store the second marker and information associating the secondmarker with the second time index, the second description, theparticular content, and the particular account, receive selection of thefirst marker or the second marker, associated with the particularcontent and the particular account; and cause a second device to playback the particular content at the first time index or the second timeindex.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, where the pluralityof instructions further cause the one or more processors to: receive,after storing the first marker and the second marker, a request for theparticular content from the second device, the request being associatedwith the particular account; provide information regarding the firstmarker and the second marker to the second device; receive, from thesecond device, a selection of the second marker; and cause the seconddevice to play back the particular content at the second time indexcorresponding to selection of the second marker.
 18. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 16, where the instruction to add thefirst marker or the instruction to add the second marker is provided bythe second device or a publisher associated with the particular content.19. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, where the first marker orthe second marker relates to a chapter of the particular content,metadata of the particular content, an object presented in theparticular content, or a point in the particular content at whichplayback of the particular content has been paused by a user associatedwith the particular content.
 20. The computer-readable medium of claim16, where the plurality of instructions further cause the one or moreprocessors to: store a third marker, identifying a third time index,based on storing the first marker or the second marker, the third timeindex identifying a beginning of the particular content and beingselectable by the second device to cause the second device to play backthe particular content from the beginning of the particular content.